Having already inked former Canucks center Brad Richardson to a three-year deal, the Coyotes GM set about getting to the salary cap floor by adding a trio of veterans — forward Steve Downie (formerly of Pittsburgh), defenseman Zbynek Michalek (formerly of St. Louis) and goalie Anders Lindback (formerly of Buffalo).

Lindback will presumably serve as Mike Smith’s backup next season and Downie… well, he’s now onto his fifth NHL team in eight years, having already spent time in Philly, Tampa Bay, Colorado and Pittsburgh.

That’s the move Isles GM Garth Snow pulled off to open free agency on Wednesday, signing former Pittsburgh goalie Thomas Greiss to a two-year, $3 million deal (per Newsday).

Griess had a somewhat forgettable stint with the Penguins last season, largely due to Marc-Andre Fleury carrying such a heavy workload. The 29-year-old started just 18 times (9-6-3, 2.59 GAA, .908 save percentage), got the mumps and played just a handful of times down the stretch.

That said, player agent Rey Petkau said Greiss was interested in returning to Pittsburgh.

“We’ve spoken and neither side has closed the door,” he explained in late May. “But we’re not actively negotiating at this time either.”

At $1.5 million per season, Greiss is an affordable and seasoned backup to Jaroslav Halak. He has 89 games of NHL experience under his belt and will look to replicate the success he had as Mike Smith’s backup in Arizona two years ago, when he went 10-8-5 with a .920 save percentage.

Devan Dubnyk has won the 2015 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for bouncing back after going through the most difficult period of his career. The 2013-14 campaign was a disaster for him as he posted a 3.36 GAA and .894 save percentage in 32 contests with Edmonton before being shipped to Nashville and then Montreal where he played for AHL Hamilton.

Arizona gave him a chance at redemption as its backup goaltender and he did well in that role, challenging Mike Smith’s status as the team’s starter in the process. However, it wasn’t until the Minnesota Wild acquired him that Dubnyk’s season really took off. He carried the team to the playoffs with a 1.78 GAA and .936 save percentage in 39 contests during his time with the Wild.

His superb play was also recognized in the Vezina Trophy voting as he earned one first-place selection and finished third overall in the voting.

(General Fanager has their cap spending at a slightly lower level, but let’s stick with “more than $18 million” to keep things simple.)

Whatever the exact amount may be, this development generated a slew of jokes from those hoping their teams would shed unwanted salaries. Just looking at the replies to that Five for Howling tweet, here are some “friendly suggestions.”

Granted, some of them might not be worth retaining, like maybe Martin Erat. Still, the likes of Mikkel Boedker should eat up space, and the Coyotes may want to pay extra for a backup in case embattled starter Mike Smith isn’t a pretty good goalie after all.

There could be a new backup goalie in Pittsburgh next season, though it’s still a bit early to rule out Thomas Greiss’ return.

“We’ve spoken and neither side has closed the door but we’re not actively negotiating at this time either,” Greiss’ agent, Ray Petkau, told PHT via email on Monday. “We’ll speak again before July 1st.”

Greiss, 29, arrived in Pittsburgh last summer with a fair bit of intrigue. After going 10-8-5 with a .920 save percentage as Mike Smith’s No. 2 in Arizona, some thought Greiss could be in the mix for the Pens’ starting gig, given 1) Marc-Andre Fleury was going into the last year of his deal, and 2) the organization was in the midst of a overhaul, having already fired head coach Dan Bylsma and GM Ray Shero.

The push never seemed to materialize, though.

Fleury signed a four-year, $23 million extension just one month into the season and proceeded to carry a big workload, finishing tied for seventh in the league with 64 starts. Griess, meanwhile, started just 18 times (9-6-3, 2.59 GAA, .908 save percentage), got the mumps and played just a handful of times down the stretch.

It’ll be interesting to see what Pittsburgh does in goal behind Fleury next year. Matt Murray, the 21-year-old prospect that racked up a bunch of AHL awards this season (including rookie of the year and top goalie) could be promoted, though the organization’s developmental strategy probably calls for Murray playing a bunch of games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, rather than sitting behind Fleury.

That means Jeff Zatkoff, who split time with Murray in the American League last year, could end up being the guy. He’s under contract for one more year and has experience as Fleury’s backup, a role he filled during the 2013-14 campaign, when he played 20 games.

As for Greiss, he could test free agent waters for the second summer in a row, in a goalie market that’ll likely feature Antti Niemi, Karri Ramo and Michal Neuvirth, among others.